Written Answers Tuesday 23 March 2010

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the membership is of the 2014 Commonwealth Games organising committee.

Shona Robison: Glasgow 2014 Limited (the organising committee) is a company limited by guarantee under the joint ownership of Scottish ministers, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland.

  In addition to the chair, the board comprises representatives from each of the company owners, representation from the Commonwealth Games Federation, an athlete representative and two independent directors. The chair is entitled to appoint a further two independent directors.

  The current board membership is as follows:

  Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chairman

  Michael Cavanagh, Chairman, Commonwealth Games Scotland

  Ian Emmerson OBE, Commonwealth Games Federation

  Hon Michael Fennell OJ CD, President, Commonwealth Games Federation

  Sir Bill Gammell, Independent Director

  Councillor Archie Graham, Glasgow City Council

  Mike Hooper, CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation

  Liz Hunter, Scottish Government

  Louise Martin CBE, sportscotland

  Dr Bridget McConnell, Culture & Sport Glasgow

  Alan Mitchelson, Independent Director

  Rhona Simpson, Athlete representative

  Kate Vincent, Scottish Government.

Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many acute occupied bed days in NHS Scotland were directly connected with alcohol-related conditions in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) age of patient.

Shona Robison: Information on the number of acute occupied bed days which are directly attributable to alcohol-related conditions is not held centrally.

  Information on acute occupied bed days is recorded on the SMR01 dataset. SMR01 has space for up to six diagnosis codes to be recorded, a main diagnosis and up to five secondary diagnoses. Alcohol-related problems will be recorded as either a main or a secondary diagnosis, so it is not possible to identify the cases where alcohol was directly attributed to the length of the admission.

  Information on the total length of stay of patients treated in acute hospitals in NHS Scotland for alcohol-related conditions, recorded in any diagnosis position, 2006-07 to 2008-09 is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 50503).

  Due to the way alcohol-related conditions are recorded, we are unable to determine whether or not the reason for admission is directly attributable to alcohol. Therefore, the figures contained in the table may be an overestimate.

  Information in the table relates to discharges from acute non-obstetric, non-psychiatric hospitals. It should be noted that patients with alcohol-related conditions may be admitted to mental illness hospitals. Statistics for these admissions are not included in the table.

Energy Efficiency

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Energy Saving Scotland home loan applications have been received in each month since March 2009.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of the approved Energy Saving Scotland home loan applications in each month since March 2009.

Jim Mather: The following table illustrates the number of loans applied for and approved, plus the value of these, under the Energy Saving Scotland home loans scheme, broken down by month since the launch of the scheme on 8 October 2009.

  

Month
Number of Loan Applications
Number of Loans Approved
Value of Loans Approved (£)


October 2009
15
1
10,000


November 2009
93
21
124,105.16


December 2009
74
56
234,133.32


January 2010
91
54
256,692.65


February 2010
138
57
331,410.49


Total
411
189
956,341.62

Enterprise

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, given that expert organisations have raised concerns over the safety assessment of certain nanomaterials, whether it is aware that consumer products are available containing nanomaterials.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is aware that there may be concerns over the health impact from some nanomaterials and is working with relevant regulatory bodies and stakeholders on possible solutions to these problems.

  In advance of the publication of the UK Nanotechnology Strategy, Mr Swinney wrote to Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, on 11 March 2010, outlining our concerns that nanomaterials may not be covered by the provisions of the REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), and welcoming the continued work of the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the REACH Competent Authorities Sub-Group on Nanomaterials.

  In addition, the Centre for Nano Safety at Edinburgh Napier University will inform the design of safer products; help regulators generate legislation to protect humans and the environment, and will allow consumers to make informed choices.

Enterprise

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position would be on a mandatory reporting scheme for nanomaterials if introduced by the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Jim Mather: Regulation for nanotechnology is UK-wide and as such is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government will continue to work with other government and regulatory bodies to ensure that any related health issues are properly addressed. The Scottish Government welcomes the UK Nanotechnology Strategy published on 11 March 2010 and its aim to widen the voluntary reporting scheme to include nanotechnology products as well as materials.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in NHS Lothian received gastric lavage treatment for alcohol misuse in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: The majority of patients receiving gastric lavage treatment will be treated in an accident and emergency (A&E) setting. Information on the number of gastric lavage procedures carried out in A&E is not centrally available as procedure information is not yet routinely collected on the A&E dataset.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in NHS Lothian received gastric lavage treatment for drug misuse in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: The majority of patients receiving gastric lavage treatment will be treated in an accident and emergency (A&E) setting. Information on the number of gastric lavage procedures carried out in A&E is not centrally available as procedure information is not yet routinely collected on the A&E dataset.

Health

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of gastric lavage treatment.

Shona Robison: Information on the costs of specific clinical procedures is not available centrally.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients died in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009 from preventable hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism.

Shona Robison: It is not possible, from centrally held information, to identify people who die as a result of preventable hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE), the collective name for Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism.

  However, the following table shows the total number of deaths (in and out of hospital) since 2007 as a result of VTE.

  

Underlying Cause of Death
Registration Year


2007
2008
2009P


Deep Vein Thrombosis1a
112
117
110


Other Venous thromboembolism1b
27
20
23


Pulmonary embolism2
257
225
193


Total
396
362
326



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

  PFigures for 2009 are provisional, pending the finalisation of the data for 2009.

  1a. ICD 10 code: I80.2.

  1b. ICD 10 codes: I80 (excl I80.2), I82 (excl. I82.0), O22.3, O22.9, O87.1, O87.9.

  2. ICD 10 codes: I26, O88.2.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that every patient is assessed for risk of venous thromboembolism on admission to hospital, as proposed in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31208 on 8 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients assessed as being at medium or high risk of venous thromboembolism it estimates receive either mechanical or pharmacological prophylaxis.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) Guideline 62 on Prophylaxis of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) recommends interventions to reduce the incidence of VTE, including general measures, surgical interventions, mechanical methods and pharmacological treatments. Clinicians in NHS Scotland are expected to follow the recommendations in the guideline, a revised version of which is due to be published in October 2010.

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are waiting for bariatric surgery in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally.

  Procedure information on the Waiting Times database is incomplete. ISD Scotland are working with NHS Boards to improve the collection of procedure information.

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people had bariatric surgery in each NHS board area in 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of bariatric surgery procedures undertaken in 2008-09 by NHS Boards is provided in the following table.

  NHSScotland: Number Of Bariatric Surgery+ Procedures Undertaken By NHS Board Of Residence In The Year Ending 31 March 2009

  

NHS Board
Number Of Procedures


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
35


Borders
*


Dumfries and Galloway
*


Fife
*


Forth Valley
12


Grampian
24


Greater Glasgow & Clyde
76


Highland
9


Lanarkshire
26


Lothian
23


Orkney
*


Shetland
*


Tayside
*


Western Isles
*


NHSScotland
213



  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01)

  +Bariatric Surgery defined as OPCS codesare G01.2, G01.3, G27.1-9, G28.,1-9, G30.1, G30.2, G30.03, G30.04, G30.8, G30.9, G31.0-9, G33.0-3, G33.5-9, G38.7, G38.8, G48.1, G48.2and G71.6.

  * Indicates values that have been suppressed due to potential risk of disclosure.

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for bariatric surgery in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Procedure information on the Waiting Times database is incomplete.

  Most bariatric surgery will be undertaken in the specialty of general surgery. Information on the median waiting time for general surgery by NHS Board of treatment for the year ending 2009 is provided in the following table.

  

NHS Board of Treatment
Median Wait (Days)


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
20


Borders
41


Dumfries and Galloway
22


Fife
40


Forth Valley
52


Grampian
36


Greater Glasgow & Clyde
25


Highland
25


Lanarkshire
23


Lothian
37


Orkney
17


Shetland
17


Tayside
31


Western Isles
31


NHSScotland
26



  Source: ISD Scotland (The Waiting Times Database)

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people waiting for bariatric surgery in each NHS board area have (a) type 2 diabetes, (b) high blood pressure and (c) sleep apnoea.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally.

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to patients who are waiting for bariatric surgery.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is for clinicians and patients to agree, in line with national guidelines and frameworks, the appropriate support required by individuals waiting for bariatric surgery.

Justice

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money generated from seized assets has been redistributed to community groups and organisations, broken down by constituency.

Kenny MacAskill: To date, the Scottish Government has committed to invest over £14 million in the CashBack for Communities programme which includes diversionary and participatory projects for young people across Scotland.

  The Scottish Government does not hold the information broken down by constituency - the grant scheme is recorded by local authority. The following tables are the three Youthlink rounds broken down by funding allocated with each local authority.

  Youthlink Round 1 - Local Authority Allocations

  

Local Authority
Allocation


Aberdeen City
£ 24,966.00


Aberdeenshire
£ 28,620.00


Angus
£ 7,200.00


Argyll and Bute
£ 40,000.00


Clackmannanshire
£ 0.00


Dumfries and Galloway
£ 9,565.00


Dundee City
£ 79,532.00


East Ayrshire
£ 0.00


East Dunbartonshire
£ 12,692.00


East Lothian
£ 31,000.00


East Renfrewshire
£ 0.00


Edinburgh, City of
£ 176,383.00


Eilean Siar
£ 4,920.00


Falkirk
£ 0.00


Fife
£ 71,522.00


Glasgow City
£ 103,711.00


Highland 
£ 72,751.00


Inverclyde
£ 13,659.00


Midlothian
£ 8,132.00


Moray
£ 22,146.00


North Ayrshire
£ 4,057.00


North Lanarkshire
£ 224,000.00


Orkney Islands
£ 4,445.00


Perth and Kinross
£ 30,091.00


Renfrewshire
£ 0.00


Scottish Borders
£ 30,429.00


Shetland Islands
£ 0.00


South Ayrshire
£ 0.00


South Lanarkshire
£ 144,698.00


Stirling
£ 0.00


West Dunbartonshire
£ 42,548.00


West Lothian
£ 12,600.00


Overall Total
£ 1,199.667.00



  Youthlink Round 2 - Local Authority Allocations

  

Local Authority
Allocation


Aberdeen
£ 63,525.00


Aberdeenshire
£ 52,379.56


Angus
£ 35,800.00


Clackmannanshire
£ 40,000.00


Dumfries and Galloway
£ 51,435.00


Dundee
£ 42,468.00


East Ayrshire
£ 82,000.00


East Dunbartonshire
£ 26,307.86


East Renfrewshire
£ 34,000.00


Edinburgh
£ 43,617.00


Falkirk
£ 68,975.00


Fife
£ 113,478.00


Glasgow
£ 576,259.00


Highland
£ 11,249.00


Inverclyde
£ 69,341.00


Midlothian
£ 24,867.00


Moray
£ 4,854.00


North Ayrshire
£ 89,870.95


Orkney
£ 5,555.00


Perth and Kinross
£ 20,867.20


Renfrewshire
£ 100,000.00


Scottish Borders
£ 6,571.00


Shetland
£ 10,000.00


South Ayrshire
£ 49,999.61


South Lanarkshire
£ 31,302.00


Stirling
£ 40,000.00


West Dunbartonshire
£ 39,452.00


West Lothian
£ 58,388.37


Western Isles
£ 5,080.00


Overall Total
£1,797,641.55



  Youthlink Round 3 - Local Authority Allocations

  

Local Authority
Allocation


Aberdeen
£ 35,041.00


Aberdeenshire
£ 55,569.00


Angus
£ 22,501.00


Argyll and Bute
£ 21,474.00


Clackmannanshire
£ 9721.00


Dumfries and Galloway
£ 39,662.00


Dundee
£ 27,405.00


East Ayrshire
£ 23,059.00


East Dunbartonshire
£ 19,591.00


East Lothian
£ 18,983.00


East Renfrewshire
£ 17,077.00


Edinburgh
£ 71,185.00


Falkirk
£ 24,486.00


Fife
£ 76,271.00


Glasgow
£ 131,558.00


Highland
£ 49,854.00


Inverclyde
£ 15,739.00


Midlothian
£ 15,438.00


Moray
£ 18,941.00


North Ayrshire
£ 28,215.00


North Lanarkshire
£ 61,468.00


Orkney
£ 5,296.00


Perth and Kinross
£ 29,689.00


Renfrewshire
£ 30,952.00


Scottish Borders
£ 24,036.00


Shetland
£ 6,320.00


South Ayrshire
£ 30,015.00


South Lanarkshire
£ 58,527.00


Stirling
£ 14,776.00


West Dunbartonshire
£17,672.00


West Lothian
£ 42,624.00


Western Isles
£ 7,284.00


Overall Total
£ 1,050,429.00



  

 
No. of Applications Received
Bids Value
No. of Awards Made
Amount Awarded


Round 1
516
£11,997,003.78
110
£ 1,199,667.00


Round 2
406
£6,722,062.42
168
£ 1,797,641.55


Round 3
520
£3,346,654.39
257
£ 1,050,429.00


Totals
1442
£22,065,719.39 
535
£ 4,047,737.55

Mental Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards are supporting bibliotherapy programmes.

Shona Robison: This information is not collected centrally.

  We have developed a guide (The Matrix) for NHS boards to use in considering which psychological interventions might best be used to meet local need and demand. This guide includes bibliotherapy as a treatment for mild depression and anxiety.

Mental Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated from Choose Life to bibliotherapy programmes.

Shona Robison: No funding has been allocated by Choose Life (now part of NHS Health Scotland) for Bibliotherapy.

  We are aware that some Choose Life co-ordinators have been involved to varying degrees, in bibliotherapy services in their area. These services, for the most part, have not been funded using specific Choose Life funding. However, there are a few exceptions noted below:

  2008 to Date

  Midlothian: Choose Life contributed £5,000 to the setting up of Midlothian’s new Healthy Reading (mental health and wellbeing) scheme in 2008-09. They plan to contribute a further £3,000 in 2010-11 towards phase 2 of the Healthy Reading scheme - this will focus on resources for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

  North Lanarkshire: the funding has been for materials on suicide prevention (bookmarks with suicide prevention messages and resources) and training for librarians in mental health training, as Lanarkshire has rolled out a healthy reading programme in all libraries.

  East Lothian: January 2007 - £6,000 to develop and launch a local bibliotherapy scheme. September 2007 - £8,000 to establish and embed the scheme within mainstream library services. January 2008 - £8,000 to develop and launch a local scheme aimed at children and young people.

  Pre-2008

  North Ayrshire: Choose Life funded some purchase of resources (books around preventing self harm) for a bibliotherapy project in 2005-06 approx £100 to £200.

  Argyll and Bute: provided funding of £3,500 in 2004-05.

  Highland: funded a poetry project in 2006.

Mental Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on bibliotherapy programmes in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: This information is not collected centrally.

Mental Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been made of the success of bibliotherapy programmes in supporting people with mental health problems.

Shona Robison: No national Scottish evaluation has been commissioned on bibliotherapy. Bibliotherapy is included in NICE guidelines and The Matrix as a recommended treatment for anxiety and other disorders on the basis of a range of research evidence.

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been (a) seconded to and (b) employed by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in each year since its inception, broken down by (i) police force area and (ii) officer rank.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency was placed on a legal footing by the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 and was formally established in April 2007.

  The SCDEA does not currently employ any police officers and detailed information on seconded officers was not held centrally from 2001 to 2009. The following information on seconded officers is accurate as of 15 March 2010.

  

 
Deputy CC
Assistant CC
Chief Superintendent
Superintendent
Chief Inspector


Central
 
 
1
 
 


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
 
 
 


Fife
 
 
 
 
 


Grampian
 
 
 
1
 


Lothian and Borders
 
 
 
1
2


Northern
 
 
 
 
 


Strathclyde
1
1
1
2
5


Tayside
 
 
 
 
 


British Transport Police
 
 
 
 
 



  

 
Inspector
Sergeant
Constable
Total


Central
1
 
4
6


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
7
7


Fife
1
1
6
8


Grampian
 
4
15
20


Lothian and Borders
2
8
24
37


Northern
1
 
7
8


Strathclyde
8
22
69
109


Tayside
 
1
7
8


British Transport Police
 
 
1
1



  Total number of seconded officers at SDEA and SCDEA from 2001 to 2010. Numbers taken on 31 March each year, except 15 March for 2010:

  

Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010


Total Secondees
107
130
161
194
200
209
197
207
202
204

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the finding in the Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts 2008-09 that the number of people with a charge proved for handling an offensive weapon in the Grampian police force area reached a 10-year high in 2008-09; whether this figure represents a record high, and what action it plans to take to address this issue.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is working with the police-led Violence Reduction Unit to tackle weapons carrying across Scotland. Reducing violence is a priority for Grampian police, and they undertake a range of activities to tackle its causes and consequences. They are actively involved in the ongoing ACPOS anti-violence campaign organised by the Violence Reduction Unit and have recently been deploying their Scottish Government funded Ferroguard metal detector as part of Operation Oak, which promotes safety in Aberdeen city centre. They also work in partnership with schools to educate young people about the dangers and consequences of carrying knives.

  The number of people with a charge proved for handling an offensive weapon in the Grampian force area was 187 in 2008-09. The conviction rate reflects the pro-active, intelligence-led policing by Grampian police to address weapons carrying.

Procurement

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on wages for staff contracted to provide services to the public sector in 2008-09, broken down by contract.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government holds details of contracts awarded by the Scottish Procurement Directorate. These contracts do not include any element of direct employment by the Scottish Government of the staff engaged to provide the services. Issues regarding wages are a matter between the supplier and their staff. Therefore, while the Scottish Government does hold information on spend for contracted services, it is not possible to separately determine which elements of these costs relate to wages.

Secure Units

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people escaped from adult medium secure units in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009.

Shona Robison: There are two adult medium secure units in Scotland, the Orchard Clinic, Edinburgh and Rowanbank, Glasgow. The Memorandum of Procedure on Restricted Patients defines an escape as "An escape will have taken place when a restricted patient breaches a physical barrier, for example, breaks out of a locked ward"

  No people have escaped from either the Orchard Clinic or Rowanbank in the years 2007, 2008 or 2009.

  In the same period there have been a small number of absconds from these units are as follows:

  2007: Two from the Orchard Clinic, 2008: One each from the Orchard Clinic and Rowanbank, 2009: One from the Orchard Clinic.

  The Memorandum of Procedure on Restricted Patients defines an abscond as "An abscond will have taken place when a restricted patient is absent without authority

  from a ward, work placement, open supervision (i.e. supervision which does not require the use of physical restraints nor continued oversight), or exceeds his or her authorised suspension of detention, or makes away from an escort". An abscond may be for a brief period of time or for longer.

  No patients are currently at large.

Voluntary Organisations

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of funding difficulties faced by voluntary organisations, whether the East of Scotland European Partnership can be instructed to introduce new funding arrangements whereby organisations that make claims against grant are paid within a 10-day timescale.

Jim Mather: ESEP Ltd has a target of 10 working days to provide correct claims to the Scottish Government for payment. An extension to ESEP’s contract has recently been agreed which will ensure additional resources are put in place to help ensure claims are processed in a timely manner and ESEP will continue to work closely with all voluntary organisations to ensure correct claims are processed and passed to the Scottish Government.